FORT WALTON BEACH — Okaloosa County might not be the most populous part of the United States, but its fundraising capacity for cancer research is unsurpassed.

Officials with the American Cancer Society announced late Thursday afternoon that the four Relay for Life groups in the county raised the most money per capita in the nation in 2012.

“My main message today is thank you,” Cal Brooks, the Panhandle’s executive director for the American Cancer Society, said shortly after announcement. “This award, to me, says a lot … No one is ahead of y’all in this fight. No one.”

The Relay teams in Crestview, Destin, Fort Walton Beach and Niceville raised a combined $524,560 during their events last spring. They even made a few individual fundraising accomplishments, according to Shelly Miller, the operating chair for the American Cancer Society Emerald Coast.